Chapter 88. Joining the Quidditch Team
"Duncan, Duncan, wake up, it's almost time for class!"
In a daze, Duncan heard someone calling his name, and he opened his eyes very slowly.
Only after staring blankly for a while did he make out Neville, who was shaking his shoulder non-stop.
"It's eight forty-five. If we don't set off now, we might be late," Neville said hurriedly.
Duncan nodded, gradually waking up, threw back the covers, and climbed out of bed.
"Did you not sleep last night?" Neville asked, watching Duncan yawn over and over. "I couldn't wake you at first."
"I went to Hagrid's last night to fetch a few spiders, so I slept a bit late," Duncan replied listlessly.
"The kind you ran into in the Forest?" Neville's eyes went a little round.
He'd heard other students say that sort of spider would eat people, and now Duncan was keeping them in the dormitory, sharing a room with them.
Neville admitted he was a bit scared, with a chill creeping over him.
Seeing Neville's expression, Duncan smiled and comforted him. "Don't worry. The spiders in the Forest attacked us because they were ill. The ones I brought back are healthy. They won't attack other creatures at random, and they're locked in the case. I'll never let them out."
"That's good…" Neville let out a breath and urged, "Let's get to class quickly."
"Let's go." Duncan stretched, grabbed Pro by the scruff and set him aside, then swung his legs out of bed, flicked his wand, and the clothes on the rack at his side flew over and slipped gently onto him.
Neville watched with envy and followed Duncan out of the dormitory.
Passing through the common room, they each took some tasty bread from the tables to fill their stomachs.
This might be the happiness of being a Hufflepuff student.
If students from other Houses got up at this hour, they might have to go to class on empty stomachs.
They jogged to the Charms classroom. Professor Flitwick hadn't arrived yet, and the room was a little noisy.
The Hufflepuff students seemed excited, chattering nonstop about something.
Duncan entered, sat down in an empty seat behind Hannah, and asked curiously, "What are you talking about?"
"You don't know yet? Harry Potter has joined the Quidditch team." Hannah spoke in a complaining tone. "I heard Professor McGonagall told Oliver Wood. They wanted to keep it secret, but someone leaked it. There were even Gryffindors showing off in the Great Hall this morning, saying they've got an outstanding Seeker and will definitely win this year's Quidditch Cup!"
"Harry joined the Quidditch team? I thought only second-years and above could join," Neville asked, puzzled. He'd collected a lot of information about Quidditch recently, so he was familiar with those rules.
Hannah replied, "Some say Professor McGonagall specially applied to the school to let Harry join, but I don't know if it's true."
"Even with Harry, Zacharias Smith and the others should still be able to win, right?" Neville said uncertainly.
"Of course!" Hannah said with a confident smile. "Zacharias said they'll train like mad. They're sure to win!"
Ellie nodded vigorously and clenched her fists, as if cheering on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team from a distance.
"Duncan, what are you thinking about?" Hannah asked. She'd noticed Duncan had seemed lost in thought the whole time.
"N-nothing. Professor Flitwick's here—let's have class first," Duncan came back to himself and said with a smile.
"Oh!" Hannah and Ellie quickly turned back and sat up straight, and the other Hufflepuffs fell silent at once.
Professor Flitwick looked around the classroom in some surprise. He seldom saw these young witches and wizards so well-behaved.
And what followed surprised him even more. When he asked questions, there was a swish—hands shot up everywhere.
Every face wore a look of longing, as if, if he didn't call on them, they might make a fuss.
Professor Flitwick blinked blankly. He didn't know the reason, but he rather liked this classroom atmosphere.
So, as long as the student he called on answered correctly, he awarded them five points.
This in turn earned rounds of applause from the Hufflepuffs, and the mood in the classroom grew ever more enthusiastic.
Duncan, however, was a slight outlier amid it all, quietly mulling over a question.
Quirrell and Snape had finished their talk last night, and then Harry had suddenly, without warning, joined the Quidditch team today.
Was there some connection between the two?
He hadn't found an answer when the bell rang. Professor Flitwick reluctantly announced the end of class.
The Hufflepuffs chorused, "Goodbye, Professor Flitwick, and thank you for your hard work!"
Professor Flitwick waved in thanks, feeling an urge to award Hufflepuff another ten points.
But he'd already given Hufflepuff quite a lot this lesson. If he added more, the other Houses would certainly object, so it would have to be next time.
"Professor Flitwick is really nice. If every professor were this generous, the other three Houses would never catch us," Hannah said happily after Professor Flitwick left. She had also won five points for Hufflepuff in today's class.
"That's because you all performed excellently! Come on, let's get to the Great Hall and grab seats. We only had a bit of bread this morning, and my stomach's already rumbling," Duncan said with a smile, and hurried out of the classroom with the others.
They moved quickly, but by the time they reached the Great Hall the tables of each House were already thronged with students.
Fortunately, there were still a few connected seats near the doors, and they dashed over and sat down.
"Lucky, lucky," Duncan exclaimed twice, and hurriedly picked up one of the delicious pies to dig in.
He had only taken a few bites when a voice sounded at his side, the speaker sounding anxious and still out of breath.
"Duncan, so you're here. I searched around the Hall and finally saw you."
Duncan turned curiously and saw Cedric standing behind him, smiling broadly.
"Hm? Cedric, are you looking for me?" Duncan swallowed and asked.
Cedric nodded and sat down in the seat next to Duncan. "Do you know that Harry has joined the Quidditch team?"
"Hannah told me earlier. Has Professor McGonagall made it official?" Duncan asked.
"Pretty much," Cedric said. "We asked Professor McGonagall about it in class today, and she didn't deny it." He looked at Duncan seriously. "So during the break I talked it over with our Quidditch team. Since Gryffindor has made an exception to let a first-year join, then we can too. If you're willing, I'll go to Professor Sprout right away and have her apply to the school."
Neville's face lit with delight, and Hannah and Ellie both stared at Duncan in shock.
"I can join," Duncan said. "But I'll say it up front—I might not have much time to take part in training."
"No problem. With your talent, as long as you can get familiar with the tactics, that's enough," Cedric said breezily, sounding even more confident than Duncan.
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